Greek basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions is the performance record of men's professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

clubs from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

's top-tier level league, the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

, in international competitions.

History

Greek professional

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

have played in European-wide competitions since the 1957–58 season, when Panellinios took part in the European top-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). Basketball was the first team sport in which Greek teams won a European-wide competition.

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

won the 2nd-tier level

FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

in the 1967–68 season, when they beat

Slavia VŠ Praha USK Praha, ( cs, Univerzitní Sportovní Klub Praha, University Sports Club Prague), formerly known as Slavia VŠ Praha ( cs, Slavia Vysoké Školy Praha), is a Czech professional basketball club that was founded in 1953 in the city of Prague. ...

in the final that took place in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Nevertheless, Greek basketball was actually mainly boosted following the gold medal-winning triumph at the

1987 EuroBasket The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the ev ...

and runners-up

1989 EuroBasket The 1989 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1989, was the 26th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Yugoslavia between 20 and 25 June 1989. Eight national teams entered th ...

, by the senior men's Greek National Team. In the following decades, Greek teams have dominated in European-wide professional club basketball, winning many trophies in continental competitions. Greek basketball clubs have won eighteen European-wide titles in totality. Greek basketball clubs have also been runners-up in European continental-wide competition twelve times. Greek teams have won the European first-tier level competition, the EuroLeague, a total of nine times, with six EuroLeague championships being won by

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

and three EuroLeague championships being won by

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. Four Greek teams have won a European-wide second-tier level competition, the Cup Winners' Cup/Saporta Cup. The Greek clubs that have won second-tier level European-wide competitions are

(two times), PAOK,

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, and

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...

. Three Greek teams have won a European-wide third-tier level cup, either the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

or the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercont ...

. Those clubs are

, PAOK and

has also won a fourth-tier level European-wide competition once, as they won the

FIBA EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level (it was the 3rd-tier level during the inaugural 2002–03 season), transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe. It was run and organized by FIBA Europe. The leag ...

. Overall, twenty-two Greek basketball clubs have participated in European-wide competitions.

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

, Panellinios,

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

and PAOK have each played in all of the main top three different level tiers.

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipality of Greece by ...

has played in competitions of the first and third level tiers.

Apollon Patras :''The first version of this article has been based in the text of :el:Α.Σ. Απόλλων of the Greek Wikipedia published under the GFDL.'' A.S. Apollon Patras (Greek:''A.Σ. Απόλλων Πατρών'') is a multi-sports club that is ba ...

and Ionikos Neas Filadelfeias have played in competitions of the second and third level tiers. Makedonikos has only played in competitions of the second tier level, and YMCA Thessaloniki, Sporting, Near East,

Ionikos Nikaias Ionikos Nikaias (full name Athlitikos Omilos Ionikos Nikaias, A.O. Ionikos Nikaias / el, Α.Ο. Ιωνικός Νικαίας) is a Greek multi-sports club that is based in Nikaia, Piraeus. It was founded in 1965, and it has teams in football, b ...

Papagou Papagou ( el, Παπάγου or Παπάγος ''Papagos'') is a suburb and municipal unit in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. The town is named after Marshal Alexandros Papagos, a general who led the Greek Army in the Second ...

, Irakleio, Olympia Larissa, Olympias Patras and

Promitheas Patras BC Promitheas Patras B.C. (Greek: Προμηθέας Πατρών K.A.E.) is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in Patras, Greece. The club currently competes in the Greek Basket League and the EuroCup. It is Patras' prominent bask ...

have only played in competitions of the third level tier.

Lavrio Laurium or Lavrio ( ell, Λαύριο; grc, Λαύρειον (later ); before early 11th century BC: Θορικός ''Thorikos''; from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greec ...

and Iraklis are the only clubs so far to participate at the fourth level tier

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...

History

The finals

European-wide competitions

World-wide competitions

Greek clubs in EuroLeague (first-tier) 1958 – today

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in FIBA Saporta Cup (second-tier) 1966/67 – 2001/02

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in EuroCup (second-tier) 2002/03 – today

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in Basketball Champions League (third-tier) 2016/17 – today

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in FIBA Korać Cup (third-tier) 1972–2001/02

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in FIBA EuroChallenge (third-tier) 2003/04 – 2014/15

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

Greek clubs in FIBA Europe Cup (fourth-tier) 2015/16 – present

Achievements

Appearances

Season to season

See also

References